


A Debt Now Paid

by let_them_be_happy



Series: three (and a half) times owen & tati met [2]
Category: Spies Are Forever - Talkfine/Tin Can Brothers
Genre: 3 times trope, Gen, Historical Inaccuracy, Honest, It's midnight, M/M, and then everything gets kinda vague at the end, bad bird aliases, everything is fake, give me some slack here, i still can't write historical, no puns unfortunately, nothing bad happens I swear, owen has a shit memory, owen's still hella gay for curt, tatiana's hella perceptive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-08-16 15:55:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8108458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/let_them_be_happy/pseuds/let_them_be_happy
Summary: 1955 Italy - a 21 year old Russian freelancer runs into someone familiar while working to hide from her country.
Alternate title: Bluebird





	

It was a very straightforward mission, Tatiana having been hired due to her skills in the area of stealth in order to steal some documents from an arms dealer so that his entire operation would fall apart and another arms dealer could take the buyers for themselves. This was one of many missions like it that Tatiana had taken on after leaving the KGB behind her, though she couldn’t exactly argue. So long as it gave her enough money to live and no innocents were unnecessarily injured or killed in the process, she had no qualms about continuing her life in this fashion until Russia stopped looking for her.

Tatiana had everything under control until a British secret agent appeared in the arms dealer’s basement and she almost blew his head off. She would have done so without hesitation, if she had not heard a familiar voice emerge from the radio in the agent’s hand. “Raven, confirm. Are you in the basement now?” 

The agent before her nodded before replying into the radio. “Confirmed, Bluebird. In the basement. Searching the area now.” 

She waited until he had put the radio down to his side before holding the gun up to the back of his head. “I assure you,” Tatiana said, making Raven turn around only to find her gun aimed between his eyes. “I am the only other person down here.” She looked at the radio in his hand. “You can go ahead and tell your fellow agents that I am here, but you must also tell your…Bluebird that I say hello.” 

Raven stared at her blankly before blinking once and looking at her in confusion. “What?”

Tatiana rolled her eyes. No wonder she had been able to sneak up on him so easily. “I know him. That will make our arrangement infinitely easier. He is familiar with the way I operate, and I am familiar with the way he operated five years ago.”

Hesitantly, he brought the radio up to his mouth, pressing the button to talk very slowly. “Bluebird, there’s a woman down here.” Raven didn’t dare bring the radio down to his side again for fear that Tatiana would shoot him - which she wouldn’t, not now anyway. That would just be stupid.

The radio crackled to life, bringing with it Kuznetsov’s voice, and the confirmation Tatiana needed that this was in fact the same man whose life she saved five years earlier. “What does that have to do with me? I’m not leading the mission, Phoenix is.” Tatiana rolled her eyes; of course Kuznetsov would be concerned about chain of command at this very moment.

Raven swallowed before he spoke again, watching Tatiana’s gun as he did. “She says she knows you. At first, all she said was to tell you ‘Hello’.” 

Tatiana smiled, her gut telling her that Kuznetsov was trying to figure out who she was. She supposed it wasn’t that unusual for him to have run into more foreign agents in the field, but she would have liked to think that she was special. “Describe her to me,” Kuznetsov said, sounding very determined to Tatiana’s ears. 

Raven then took a moment to actually look at Tatiana, and she had to restrain herself from hitting him when his eyes rested on her chest for just a moment too long. “She’s maybe twenty, twenty-one, red hair, Russian accent -” here Tatiana got tired of the charade and grabbed the radio out of his hand “- hey! Give that back!” 

She started to walk away from him, keeping her gun on him as she did. “Mister Kuznetsov,” Tatiana said, her voice indicating that she was clearly amused by this turn of events. “I must admit, I never planned on hearing  _ or _ seeing you ever again.” 

“Miss Watson,” Kuznetsov replied, and Tatiana could hear the smile in his amused tone. “I cannot say  _ I _ ever planned on doing the same. Need I ask what it is you’re doing here?”

“The same as you, I assume,” Tatiana replied, still keeping Raven’s radio away from him. “I suppose we will need to meet up in order to better discuss our current situation.” She paused for a moment, considering her next move. “We are in the basement. Since you are not leading this mission, you are in the second floor?”

Kuznetsov hummed in confirmation. “Rendezvous on the main floor in five?” 

“Agreed. Oh, and Kuznetsov?”

“Yes, Miss Watson?”

Tatiana couldn’t quite keep the smile off of her face. “‘Bluebird’?”

His groan of exasperation made Raven’s confusion worth it. “Not you too.” 

* * *

“You okay, Freddie?”

Tatiana smiled as Kuznetsov addressed Raven, fully aware of the vaguely traumatized look on the latter agent’s face. “Bluebird, it is an honor,” she said when Kuznetsov turned his attention to her, holding her hand out to him. 

He smiled at her, shaking her hand much to the disbelief of his fellow agents. “Miss Watson, a pleasure as always,” Kuznetsov replied, giving her a sly wink as he took his hand back. “Anything in particular you feel we should call you?”

She frowned for a moment, considering her options. “Perhaps ‘Hummingbird’ to fit in with your bird theme?” 

Kuznetsov laughed, startling his fellow agents even more. “Yes, I think Hummingbird will work quite nicely.” His expression became somber with the approach of another group of agents. “Hummingbird, this is Phoenix. He is the one in charge of this mission.” Kuznetsov fell back to Tatiana’s side as she sized this ‘Phoenix’ up.

The man was large, but not overbearingly so. Slightly above average height, perhaps an inch or two shorter than Kuznetsov, but far more built than Kuznetsov. He stalked over to Tatiana, staring her down as a predator might a prey. “This is your mystery woman, Carvour? This pre’y li’le bird ‘ere?” He hovered there on the edge of her personal space, his Cockney accent grating on Tatiana’s nerves as much as his pretense of allowing her to keep her space..

She looked up at him coolly. “Touch me and you will lose an appendage far more precious than a finger,” Tatiana said, and she most definitely did  _ not _ imagine the proud look on Kuznetsov’s face when she said that. She supposed he had the right to be proud - after all, she had grown much as a spy since the last time they met. 

After a momentary staredown, Phoenix grinned, though it was not a pleasant grin. “I see why you left ‘er alive,  _ Bluebird _ .” He looked away from her, finally, and at Kuznetsov. “Get her out of here. I’m not gonna ‘ave any fuckin’ Russian screwin’ up my mission.” 

“I know where Serpico is,” Tatiana said, just as Phoenix was turning away from her, already planning ahead on how to kill Serpico now that this  _ distraction _ had been taken care of. She could feel Kuznetsov looking at her, silently telling her to shut up. “He isn’t coming back here, he isn’t planning on coming back here until he’s certain that no one is looking for him anymore.”

Phoenix turned to her, slowly. “What do you think we should do, then? Stand ‘round waitin’ for ‘im like idiots?” 

Tatiana shook her head. “I know where he’s staying  _ and _ where he keeps his information about his arms sales.” She held her chin up when Phoenix walked towards her again, meeting his eyes calmly. “I won’t tell you where he or the information is unless you let me work with you,” she said, ignoring the way her instincts were screaming for her to turn the other way and run as fast as she could.

“Don’t tempt me, girl,” Phoenix said, Tatiana sensing rather than seeing the man reaching for the knife at his belt. “I could get the information out of you any way I pleased.”

Before Phoenix could raise the knife in his hand above his belt, Tatiana grabbed his arm, holding it still where it was. “I would not recommend torture,  _ Phoenix _ ,” she spat at him. “My government might not thank you for adding new scars to their prize agent.” The tension in the air was palpable, and Tatiana could feel Kuznetsov unintentionally holding his breath.

After a few more moments, Tatiana removed her hand, and Phoenix replaced his knife. “Very well then,  _ Hummingbird _ . You can join us, so long as you obey my  _ every command _ .” Phoenix punctuated his last statement with a finger pointed in Tatiana’s face, to which Tatiana responded by raising an eyebrow to say ‘Really?’. 

“I will obey your orders so long as they do not interfere with my mission objective.” Phoenix puckered his lips like he had just eaten something very sour, but he nodded in agreement, turning away from her back to the rest of his agents and declaring that conversation done with.

Kuznetsov came up beside Tatiana, staring after Phoenix. “I have no idea how you just did that, but color me very impressed.” Tatiana looked up at Kuznetsov with a pleased smile, Kuznetsov turning at the same time to look at her with awe. He managed to compose himself after a few moments, his expression still shining with respect for her. “I have to say, you were nowhere near that good five years ago.” 

Tatiana’s smile turned sly after a few moments, ensuring that Phoenix and the rest of the agents were far enough away that she could whisper without being heard. “Turns out you don’t know a good bluff when you hear one,” she told Kuznetsov in a low voice, enjoying the way his jaw went slack with shock.

“You lied?!” Tatiana grinned as Kuznetsov’s expression changed from shock to admiration again. “That was a ballsy move, Miss Watson. Phoenix doesn’t take well to liars.” He clapped his hands together quietly, not even making a whisper of noise, as the two of them began to follow the rest of the agents trailing after Phoenix. “Having said that, well done. You’ve earned yourself a place on the team, standing up to Phoenix like that.” 

There was a wry twist to Tatiana’s lips then. “Thank you, that was exactly what I wanted for this mission, Bluebird.” She bumped shoulders with Kuznetsov, and Tatiana couldn’t find it in her to regret any part of their easy camaraderie.With that thought in mind, they get to work, joining Phoenix and the rest of the agents in their discussion about how to proceed next.

* * *

Tatiana didn’t like Phoenix, not one bit. But he was Kuznetsov’s superior, if not for too long given the way Kuznetsov’s skills had improved in leaps and bounds in the previous five years. Phoenix was responsible for part of Kuznetsov’s future as a spy, so Tatiana held her tongue, at least in front of the man. Behind his back was a completely different story.

Finding Serpico and his arms dealing information took far longer than Tatiana expected it to, especially now that she was dragging along a whole battalion of British secret agents. But she didn’t regret all of it, as it allowed her to spend more time with Kuznetsov - Carvour, she learned he was really called. It didn’t matter to her, not really. He was still Kuznetsov to her. 

As the other agents refused to even risk the possibility of sharing a temporary living space with her, it was Carvour Tatiana ended up sharing a hotel room with, which lead her back to their last personal conversation - shared when the two of them thought they would never see each other again. 

“So,” Tatiana began, sitting cross-legged at the end of Carvour’s bed. Carvour himself was leaning against the bed’s headboard, his legs stretched out so that they brushed against Tatiana’s. (The bed truly was tiny, especially for a man of Carvour’s stature.) “Have you made any progress on your crush?” 

Carvour truly had made advancements in his abilities as a spy, if the way he didn’t blush was any indication. He opened his eyes lazily, raising a questioning eyebrow at her. It was impressive, the way Carvour managed to make his body language read as casual.  “Is that still on your mind? What makes you think I’ve even still got a crush after five years?”

Tatiana’s answering grin was ruthless. “Because you know exactly what I’m talking about,” she replied smugly. Carvour’s resulting coughing fit in an effort to hide the sudden pinkness of his cheeks was enough for Tatiana to know that she was exactly right. “So, I will ask again. Have you made any progress on your crush?” 

He glared at her once he’d regained some of his composure, Tatiana merely smiling innocently. “I can’t say anything in regards to our non-existent sexual relationship, but our friendship has blossomed,” Carvour said, clearly going for honesty for the sake of time. He assumed Tatiana wouldn’t leave the topic alone until she’d gotten what she wanted. (Carvour was, of course, correct in this assumption about Tatiana’s character.) 

She arched an eyebrow at him, and Carvour let out a huff of a sigh, giving up on berating her for asking for information she didn’t need to know. “Does your friend the American spy have a name?” Tatiana grabbed her ankles, bouncing on the bed slightly. The situation was beginning to feel like an American teenage girl sleepover where the girls in question discussed their crushes on boys - something Tatiana had never experienced personally, but it was all over American media. 

The longer Tatiana looked at Carvour, the more his resistance to telling her the answer wore down. She smiled in a satisfactory manner when Carvour let out a sigh again. “His name is Curt,” he said, a little reluctant when his cheeks flushed pink.

Tatiana raised both of her eyebrows, a huge grin on her face. “ _ Curt _ ?” Carvour picked a pillow up from beside him and covered his head with it, attempting to hide from the extremely pleased look on Tatiana’s face. “Curt the rude American spy who’s won the heart of Carvour the chivalrous British spy,” Tatiana said triumphantly, raising her arms to the sky.

Carvour hit her with the pillow, making her drop her arms. “Say it a little louder, I’m not sure they heard you in America,” he said drily, which made Tatiana aware of how loud she had been, making her grimace a little. “I can’t believe the only thing you remembered about him was that I said he was rude. I said other things about him too…” Here Carvour paused, clearly attempting to remember their conversation from five years before. “…Didn’t I?”

Tatiana laughed.

* * *

She traveled with them for a few more weeks looking for Serpico, sharing stories with Carvour and generally making nuisances of themselves to his fellow agents in the evening in random hotel rooms when they weren’t out searching for Serpico. It took far longer than Tatiana originally thought to track the Italian down, and word had reached the arms dealer that they were looking for him.

It was also far more dangerous than Tatiana originally thought it would be. 

She was caught off guard, and if that wasn’t the most damning thing Tatiana had ever heard in her entire life.  _ Her _ , getting caught off guard, leading to her subsequent capture and interrogation by Serpico himself. 

Tatiana blamed Phoenix.  _ He _ had been the one to make the decision to raid Serpico’s facility with all of the tact of a rhinoceros in a fine china store. It had also been because of his frank incompetence that Tatiana had gone off on her own to search for the relevant information her employer required. Because the MI6 agents had been making such a ruckus elsewhere on the floor, Tatiana hadn’t heard her attacker until he was on her. 

When Tatiana woke, she was unsurprised to find herself bound to a chair, surrounded by darkness, a similar position to the one she found herself in during her last mission with Carvour. She internally cursed both him and Phoenix - Carvour because Tatiana saw a recurring theme where that man was concerned, and Phoenix because he was the reason she was attacked in the first place. 

She tested the restraints around her wrists (tied tightly without the slightest hint of give) and around her ankles (tied with the same amount of cautiousness). She pulled on the chair (bolted to the basement floor), and sighed at her situation. Tatiana awkwardly slid a knife out of her sleeve, sawing away at the rope around one of her wrists.

The sound of footsteps heading in her direction made Tatiana stop cold, trying to put her knife back up her sleeve so that it couldn’t be taken away from her. The door was kicked open, and Tatiana squinted at the light of the torch being shined in her face. “Miss Watson?”

Tatiana blinked as her eyes adjusted to the sudden light. “Carvour?” 

Carvour let out a heavy sigh as he walked towards her, holstering his gun and pulling out a knife as he did. “I should’ve known you would do something like getting yourself captured,” he said, beginning to work through the restraints around Tatiana’s wrists, raising an eyebrow when he noticed the beginnings of her own attempt. 

“As I remember,” Tatiana began, twisting around to look at Carvour behind her. “It was  _ you _ who needed to be rescued the last time we met.” Carvour rolled his eyes, freeing one of Tatiana’s wrists.

“And which one of us ended up getting us captured by Volkov’s men?” Tatiana huffed, conceding the argument. “Freddie should be down soon,” Carvour continued, working on Tatiana’s other wrist. She mentally translated ‘Freddie’ to ‘Raven’, the agent she almost shot. “I told him to come down about five minutes after I did, just to make sure he wouldn’t get ambushed at the same time.” 

Tatiana quirked her lips. “How thoughtful,” she said dryly as Carvour freed her other wrist. She slid her knife out of her sleeve again, and the two of them set about cutting the ropes around her ankles. “What is the plan to capture Serpico?” Carvour grimaced and Tatiana nodded. “That’s what I thought you would say.” 

The almost-awkward silence was broken by Raven’s arrival. “Carvour? You down here?”

“In here, Freddie,” Carvour said, just as he and Tatiana cut through the ropes. Raven rushed into the room, his panic clearly written across his face. “Listen, Freddie, you’ve got to get her out of here. I don’t want to know what Serpico or his men will do if they find she’s gotten free.”

Raven looked at Tatiana, who had been unceremoniously shoved towards him as soon as she had stood from the chair, and then at Carvour, who was steadfastly not looking at Tatiana. “What about you? You’re not planning on facing them all on your own, are you?”

Tatiana crossed her arms, looking at Carvour sternly. “You know I can take care of myself. I don’t need to be escorted out of here like a child,” she said sourly, frowning at him. He sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I refuse to let you risk your life for me,” Tatiana added.  _ Like I will not let my family risk themselves _ . 

Carvour met Tatiana’s eyes. “Listen, I owe you a debt for saving my life in Russia. Let me repay the favor by getting you out of here and back where you’re needed.”  _ Back to your family _ was the unspoken part of Carvour’s statement. Tatiana stared Carvour down for a long moment before nodding decisively. “Freddie,” Carvour said, making Raven look away from where he’d been looking at Tatiana with a confused expression. “Get her out of here.” 

* * *

Tatiana paced the hotel room impatiently, waiting for Carvour to return from his meeting with Phoenix in order to discuss “what he had done wrong” - in other words, saving Tatiana’s life. The door unlocked, and Carvour walked in, looking a little more tired than he had been when Tatiana had seen him last but otherwise fine. “I did not mean to get you into trouble,” Tatiana started.

Carvour waved a hand, cutting her off. “Of course you meant to get me into trouble, just not by putting your life on the line,” he replied, sitting heavily on his bed. After a long moment of staring at nothing, Carvour lifted his head and smiled at Tatiana. “It was good to see you again, Miss Watson.”

Tatiana let out a small, relieved sigh. “The mission is over then? Serpico is dead and the information about his dealings has been obtained?” Carvour nodded, and Tatiana considered the sudden weight on her shoulders. “It is unlikely that we will meet again, yes?” He nodded again, and Tatiana made a decision that she might come to regret. “Slozhno. Miss Tatiana Slozhno,” she said, holding a hand out to Carvour as she slung her duffel bag full of clothes and weapons over her shoulder. She pulled her coat out from the handles as she waited for Carvour to make a decision. 

He nodded too after a long minute of silence. “Carvour. Mister Owen Carvour,” he replied, taking her hand and shaking it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Slozhno.”

Tatiana smiled at him, just barely. “Until we meet again, Mister Carvour,” she said in return, dropping her hand back to her side. She stood there for a moment before reaching out to rest a hand on Carvour’s shoulder. “It will get better, I promise,” Tatiana said, leaving her statement purposefully vague so that Carvour could interpret it however he pleased. 

With one last smile, Tatiana walked out of the hotel room with renewed hope that she might see her family again someday soon. 

* * *

Owen flopped back onto the bed as soon as the door shut, running his hands over his face. It had been difficult, but not impossible, to lie to Miss Watson - Tatiana. Serpico’s information had indeed been obtained but the man himself still lived. And there was much for him to say before he could even consider his death.

He laid on the bed for a few moments before standing back up again. He had work to do. 

**Author's Note:**

> so I based Phoenix on the World's Deadliest Man...before I knew it was Owen in disguise. I explain that in the next part. comments & critiques welcome


End file.
